Lets just hope that "CAPT Clueless" is not the norm. I also don't know what "ALPA didn't know what they were going to do about them" means. Regarding taking a pay cut, I guess he is not familiar with our current narrow-body FO rates. I cant really fault him on that (although it is disappointing) but hopefully you were able to enlighten him.


Scoop

 

Ok reserve gurus. Tomorrow is my seventh day in a stretch of 12 or so. Scheduling just called and put me into rest from midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow night (all day the 27th). What exactly are my obligations? Do I have to check my schedule after 3 PM? Do I have to acknowledge anything prior to the end of my rest period? When is the earliest trip report of short call I can be assigned? Is it 0001 on the 28th or noon on the 28th?

Thanks.

 

Scoop,

I think there are many more Captain Cluelesses than you think. Its sad, but understandable (sort of): these guys do not want to ruffle any feathers and jeopardize their income and lifestyles so close to retirement. You see, they are at the top of the pyramid and they like it up there. Why ruin that?

TEN

 

It is not an off day, it is 24 hrs free from obligation. They can and will if needed, assign you a trip during that period, they can assign SC. In my experience they will call you and notify you of it, but I would check my schedule just to be sure.

Without looking it up, I beleive the earliest they can assign something is three hrs after your rest ends. They would have to assign domestic SC at least 10 hrs prior to the start time of that SC period though. As for a trip, they can assign you anything during your rest period as long as you are legal to start the trip; basically no break in rest, or adding to the rest period so that you are legal under Whitlow. This does not apply for Flag Dispatched flights.

 

Here is another scheduling issue. They just called my cell phone twice and neither time did they leave a message. I'm sitting next to my home phone and it hasn't made a sound. No message and no call to my main contact number to me means they really don't need me. I'd love to have a trip on my schedule that I wasn't properly notified about. Unfortunately I will take the darn high road and look at my schedule. If there is a trip I will be filling out an FCR and making some phone calls. Anyone know who I need to call and email for schedulings screw up?? I am required to do my job correctly every day on every flight. Why can't scheduling do theirs??

 

Realty Check with Diana Olick - CNBC


Mortgage Interest Deduction Big in Budget Play

Right now, home loan borrowers can deduct the amount of interest they pay on their mortgages from their taxable income. This goes for principal residences and second homes. The interest deduction is capped at the first million dollars of debt on the home. For home equity loans it's capped at $100,000 in debt.

The deduction costs the U.S. Treasury about $100 billion a year. There are proposals now to either reduce the cap to $500,000 and/or to eliminate the deduction on second homes. Eliminating the deduction on second homes would save about $15 billion, and reducing the cap to $500,000 would save another $15 billion, according to economist William Wheaton at MIT. 10.5 percent of existing home sales in June were of homes over $500,000 according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Then there's the idea from the President' bipartisan commission of turning the interest deduction into a 12 percent credit, limited to $500,000 in mortgage debt, only on primary residences. That could save the Treasury $65 billion.

 

It's equally disgusting that ALPA pilotslots aren't adequately supporting their own political action committee.

Standing by for the same weak rationalization.

 

ALPA might not know what to do about it, but the pilot group does. JB rates plus 10% should be management's opener, and ours would be well above that of course.

If ALPA or anyone really has the power to sabotage us on this issue though, then yes it would be better to fly then at any rates than to outsource them. Although I would have told him all we have to do is give the company 757/767 rates for the 777 and that could fund proper 100 seater pay, and since we only have a very small number of 777's it won't effect many pilots and we would be getting more 100 seaters than we have 777's anyway so it would be a net win for the pilot group, most of which will never see the 777 anyway especially if they don't want to sit 10 years on reserve on it.

shack?

 

Yep. What's really funny are the parents slaving away (and delaying retirement!!!!!) to fund these little delicate geniuses and their 6 figure playtime adventures while most are getting worthless degrees that won't get them any meaningful work when they "graduate". Even the exceptions to that would benefit from taking an extra year or three to work themselves through, but of course its easier to be all like "daddy daddy i need more 300 dollar textbooks, and a car, and an appartment, and spending money, and a new computer, and, and, and, and..."

Then the more mass quantities of money (federal, state, 529, etc) we throw at this monstrosity the more the already inflated price balloons out of control which hurts everyone. It is the next crisis brewing, the education bubble, and you can better believe they will expect a full bailout. Student loan debt eclipses consumer credit card debt already. When we make a 4 year 6 figure vacation an entitlement for every single child in the country at whatever the price, its a bubble thats guaranteed to pop. Not to mention a bubble that if we didn't have it, a LOT more guys would take these early outs!

 

Reroute, you know why. People do not trust ALPA. ALPA-PAC does a great service for us, but the majority of our pilots cannot stand anything ALPA. We need to rectify that.

I think the easiest way is to start asking not telling pilots what they should be concerned with. (Yeah, yeah, I know we do, but when the pilot's do not think that way, it does not matter what those that do the work think, because the root of the problem is with those that matter)